Our understanding pets are smarter than we think

We all have human friends. How about the four-legged kind? A recent portrayal on television proved that animals do have emotions and do express them. Some people will say, "Aw, don't be silly." Others will tell you how their pet dog woke them in the middle of the night to tell them, in a doggie way, that their garage was on fire.

Remember the old story of Lassie Come Home? This amazing dog walked many miles (on television) over the roughest, most fearful terrain, to get home to her beloved family. OK, so that was a story. But what about the real Lassie in someone's family, who did practical...